Breaking
by Lady Lauren
Summary: Kallen had no idea why she brought Suzaku with her to visit her mother but part of her was glad that she did. “It’s okay to break down every once in awhile. You can’t be strong all the time.” Set in R1, Post Stage 19.


**Description: **Kallen had no idea why she brought Suzaku with her to visit her mother but part of her was glad that she did. "It's okay to break down every once in awhile. You can't be strong all the time." Set in R1, Post Stage 19.

I do not own Code Geass in any way, shape, or form.

**Breaking**

It was way too early to be pumping blood at the rate she was, but that didn't faze her not one bit. Despite the ongoing pain she was developing in her lower leg, Kallen continued running. Her destination was Ashford Academy and she had less than a minute to get there before she would be considered late.

'_Damnit! I knew I shouldn't have stayed up late with Ohgi!'_ she cursed to herself while wiping the lingering sweat from her brow. Soon she was jogging through the gates of the school with absolutely no time to spare. She gave a sigh and stopped jogging, giving up on being punctual.

She slowly walked up the stairs to her first period, all the while catching her breath. When she reached the top of the stairs, she walked over to the open balcony and looked over the edge.

"That sure is a long way down." She muttered to herself.

"You're late too?" she snapped her head back at the sound of that voice. Surprise soon turned into disdain, however, once she realized who it was.

"Don't talk to me Suzaku." She snarled at him.

"Why not?" He asked, curiously.

"You know exactly why not!" She snapped. He was taken aback by her shout but pursued her still once she turned away.

"Wait Kallen!" he insisted as he grabbed her free arm. She whipped her head around with an angry scowl on her face.

"Get your hands off me. I want nothing to do with you." She replied coldly as she snatched her arm away, ever backing away from him. Suzaku noticed how close she was getting to the edge of the balcony with each step she took.

"Kallen stop!" he yelled in one final attempt to get her to halt.

"Who do you think you are? Telling me what to-" she stopped midsentence once she realized what was about to happen. Kallen let out a soft scream when she felt her body tip backwards. Luckily for her, Suzaku had grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her forward.

But the laws of gravity kicked in causing Kallen to fall on top of Suzaku. They both hit the ground with a thud. When Kallen opened her eyes, she met the gaze of Suzaku. Kallen blushed, realizing how close they where. The feel on his breath caressing her face sent odd shivers down her spine. She quickly sat up and glared at the Japanese boy.

"What do you think you're doing?" she shouted at him, fixing her uniform.

"I was saving you!" he retaliated, a bit ticked off by her attitude. He too stood while glaring back at her.

"I didn't need saving." She defiantly crossed her arms over her chest and stared off to the side.

"Why are you so stubborn?" he asked with a look of disbelief.

"Why are you so persistent?" she shot back.

"I just want us to be friends." He admitted truthfully. The red head was taken aback by his statement but frowned nonetheless.

"We're on opposite sides of the battlefield, remember? There's no way we can be friends." She said one last thing before taking off down the hallway. As he watched her go, he slid down the wall of the balcony and sighed, looked up at the ceiling.

**.:CG:.**

Kallen lazily rested her head in her palm, impatiently waiting for the bell to ring releasing her to her next period. Throughout her entire lesson, she couldn't seem to focus though. Her mind was glued to Suzaku and their morning squabble much to her dislike.

_RING_

She slowly gathered up her things and placed them in her briefcase. Just like the rest of her classmates she filed out of the classroom, heading in the same direction that she came from. Stuck in her own world, she failed to notice the students around her. But her gaze automatically fell on the brown haired boy sitting by the balcony, his knees up to his chest. She gave a frustrated huff and marched over to him, hand on her hip.

"Don't tell me you've been sitting here all this time?" she started. Suzaku looked up from his daze and was surprised to see Kallen standing before him. She gave a sigh and let her hand fall down to her side as she switched her gaze to the left.

"I don't understand you at all Suzaku." She said softly, still not meeting his gaze. Suzaku slowly stood up, his body slightly towering over Kallen's.

"Maybe we should get to know each other then." He shrugged his emerald eyes full of hope. Kallen looked at him longingly, searching for any kind of doubt or reason for her to distrust him. But she came up short.

"How do I know I can trust you?" she asked cautiously.

"I haven't turned you in yet, have I?" he replied with a slight grin.

"Fine." Kallen said, finally giving in as she began walking down the stairs. Suzaku stared at her oddly, fighting the urge to follow her. He felt tightness in his chest when she stopped in her descent and stared at him.

"Well? Don't just stand there, come on!" she ordered. His eyes widened at her command but he followed her without question.

"Where are we going?" he asked once they passed the gates of the school. Kallen turned to face with a slight glare in her eyes.

"You ask too many questions." She turned back to the main street.

"Do you always cut class like this?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, but it's not for reasons that you think." She explained. Soon they reached a four-way intersection with a mass of cars coming from all directions. Once they were safely across the street, Kallen eyed Suzaku.

"Why do you want us to be friends?" she asked.

"Because under any normal circumstances we probably would be friends." He said.

"But the world we live in has no normal circumstances." Kallen finished.

"Tell me, why do you fight?" he asked, looking straight ahead. Kallen hesitated to answer.

"I fight…so my mother and I can live in a peaceful would and so my brother's dream can be fulfilled. He died in the resistance." Her tone dropped at that last statement. He didn't push the issue any further. Soon their destination was clear. Suzaku hadn't realized until it was right in front of them. They were going to the hospital.

From there on out, no words were spoken. The only thing that could be heard was the tapping of their shoes against the white ceramic tiles of the building. Suzaku wondered silently why Kallen brought him here. His question was somewhat answered when they stopped in front of a door. He looked through the glass and spotted a woman with dull brown hair staring out a window.

'_Is that her mother?'_ he asked himself.

"This is why I cut class." She said finally, never taking her eyes off the woman, her left hand resting on the glass.

"You should be honored. I've never brought anyone here with me." She said. Suzaku nodded but he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her.

"I did it to her. I'm the reason she's like this." She started, her blue eyes losing their liveliness.

"After my brother Naoto died, we were separated and I was sent to live with my Britannian father." She paused.

"Years passed and I hadn't seen my mother until she appeared at my house as a maid. When I first saw her, I was so disappointed that I refused to acknowledge her as the woman who gave birth to me. She kept making mistakes and breaking things and she allowed my stepmother to talk to her and treat her like she wasn't a person.

"I was so angry at her for not standing up for herself and for not being the woman I knew she was. So out of rage, I started treating her like crap too." She paused again, gathering her thoughts.

"Then one night, we were ordered by Zero to stop a shipment of the drug refrain and I saw her. She was wandering around helplessly and I again felt the urge to scold her and put her down. But it was what she said that tore me up inside. She stared at the Glasgow I was in and she said 'Don't be afraid Kallen, I'll always be with you.'" She stopped, a tears forming in her eyes.

"She was never the same after that night. She can't even speak now. It's because of the many times she used refrain. And I drove her to it." She cursed, balling up her fist.

"That's not true Kallen." Suzaku spoke up only to receive an outburst.

"How would you know, huh? I was stupid and childish Suzaku. I was too blind with anger to see that my actions were hurting her! I broke her heart…" And with that, the tears began streaming down the sides of her face. Suzaku did the only thing his mind could think of, he placed a gentle hand on her right shoulder.

"Kallen I-" but she interrupted him when she smacked his hand away.

"I don't need your sympathy." She spat, furiously wiping the tears from her eyes. She hadn't noticed when Suzaku took a few steps toward her.

"You need a friend though." He said. Before she could protest, he quickly wrapped her arms around her shoulders and hugged her tightly. She was shocked.

'_What…what is he doing?'_ she asked herself.

"Just…let go Kallen." He whispered to her softly. She soon found herself raising her arms to return the hug as she let her briefcase fall to the floor. Kallen had no idea why she brought Suzaku with her to visit her mother but part of her was glad that she did. She hadn't felt this type of comfort in a long time.

"It's okay to break down every once in awhile. You can't be strong all the time." She let his words soothe her as the last of her tears settled into the fabric of his jacket. He hugged her tighter as she closed her eyes and mentally buried herself in his arms.

"Thank you…Suzaku." She whispered back.

**A/N: **Well, this is my second one-shot. I hope I didn't make Kallen seem OOC with the crying scene. Again, feel free to make any comments, ask any questions, and voice any concerns. I'm open to criticism as long as it's legitimate. Thanks for reading! =)

Lady Lauren


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